Case To Restore U.S. Army National Guard Wheel Loader Fleet

Case Construction Equipment, a brand of CNH Global, recently was awarded a U.S. Government contract to rebuild nearly 400 MW-24C Army National Guard wheel loaders.

Originally purchased in the early 1980s for service with the Armed Forces throughout the world, these loaders have been used in various military missions, ranging from support of humanitarian projects and third world nation building to deployment with combat support troops in hostile areas.

The top-to-bottom refurbishing of these wheel loaders, which have been in productive operation for more than two decades, will extend their usable service life by another 15 years. With this complete remanufacture, the machines will be restored to original performance specs, and the units will carry a full one-year new machine warranty.

"This agreement provides the Army National Guard with the benefits of new equipment at a very favorable cost," said Robin Killian, vice president of Case Construction Equipment.

“Several provisions of the agreement make it a win-win for the Army National Guard, the State of Wisconsin and for Case,” said James E. McCullough, president, of the North American Construction Equipment division for CNH Global. He noted that work will be done at an existing Army National Guard maintenance facility at Fort McCoy, in Wisconsin. “This provides a secure facility at a reasonable cost and is possible because of a long-term lease agreement between Case and the military.”

In addition, to meet the labor requirements for the project, Case will fill positions with current or retired military personnel. "We will also use local businesses whenever possible," noted McCullough.

Killian called the agreement “a great example of our commitment to the kind of professional partnerships with our customers that meet their unique and tough demands.”

In order to return the machines to original performance specifications, the wheel loaders will be completely disassembled, inspected and refurbished. As a term of the agreement, Case will supply will supply all parts and components necessary to remanufacture these machines.

According to Killian, the military purchased a significant amount of product from Case in the late ’70s and ’80s. The Case MW-24C wheel loaders are the primary 2.5 yd3 (bucket capacity) loaders in the military’s inventory today. In addition to the MW-24 wheel loaders, a number of other Case products, including forklifts and crawler dozers, remain in the military’s fleet today. “We are actively pursuing other opportunities with the military, which will benefit from efficiencies achieved in our agreement with the Army National Guard,” Killian said.